FAKE NEWS: What makes it dangerous and how can we prevent it?

Photograph: Erik McGregor/Pacific/Barcroft

Imagine scrolling on your phone and seeing a headline about this thing called Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that there was a pedophile sex ring run by Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, which operated out of Comet Ping Pong, a pizzeria in Washington, D.C. Now your feed is flooded with more “evidence” supporting this claim, emails showing more details, and a post “breaking down” how words like “pizza” and “cheese”were coded language for abuse. The common factor was #Pizzagate, tagged in it all, videos gaining over 80 million views on TikTok.

Image of a tweet from Michael Flynn, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General and former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump.

Would you believe it? The “evidence” is right in front of you; thousands of tweets, comments, posts, articles, and videos are telling you all about how these big politicians are members of a pedophile ring performing satanic rituals. Even if you didn't, hundreds of thousands did, including 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch from Salisbury, North Carolina.

Welch arrived at Comet Ping Pong armed with an AR-15-style rifle, determined to investigate and “rescue” all the children whom he believed to be hidden as sex slaves in the pizzeria. Three shots were fired, and while nobody was injured and Welch was arrested, the damage was already done.

Image taken during Edgar Maddison Welch’s arrest. Sathi Soma, via Associated Press

James Alefantis, owner of Comet Ping Pong, and a Democratic donor, was receiving hundreds of death threats, one message saying that his shop should be burned to the ground. Surrounding shops also received similar threats, as well as musicians who had performed at Comet Ping Pong, and anyone with any connections to it.

Despite an arson attempt in one of the back rooms of Comet Ping Pong on January 25, 2019, which was quickly extinguished, the pizzeria remains open as of early 2026.

In her TED Talk, “Understanding the Impacts of Fake News on Political Polarization,” Maddie Luebkert discusses what led her to realise the dangers of fake news. She mentions an experience while working at a restaurant in Michigan over the summer, where she had a conversation with a waitress about conspiracy theories, the waitress said she believed in the Pizzagate conspiracy, and Luebkert realized fake news can be serious and frightening, not just silly rumors and conspiracy theories. It has real effects on political polarization in the U.S. and globally, and everyone has a responsibility to understand how fake news works because it affects decision-making and the life of everyone.

So why advertise fake news? Luebkert gives two reasons: to make money and to support partisan agendas. On most platforms, more clicks mean more ad revenue. Because of this, clickbait content is designed to attract attention and clicks, and creators may invent or exaggerate stories to get “traffic”. Fake news is also used to support a political candidate or attack an opponent, as we saw with Pizzagate. It is important to remember that social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged longer. Provocative content (often fake) performs well, meaning platforms may unintentionally promote fake news because it drives engagement. Audiences also tend to seek information that confirms their beliefs, so news outlets may provide stories in ways that match audience bias to retain engagement.

This can be prevented or delayed using Luebkert’s “Three E’s of Healthy News Consumption”. First, examine. Check the source, examine the URL spelling and domain, as well as the author credentials. Make sure the author is real, and use tools like AllSides to see the political leanings of news outlets. Next, exit. Exit social media before accepting news as fact. Don’t rely on social media alone, and verify stories through other sources first. Lastly, expand. Use multiple news sources, including sources with different viewpoints. This helps better understand issues and understand why others think differently.

Fake news is dangerous, scary, and something that is so normalised in this moment in time that we are desensitised to it. It can ruin lives, businesses, relationships, and your ability to trust authority. However, it is something that we can all work to improve; we can use Maddie Luebkert’s “Three E’s” to improve our abilities in media literacy and move towards a hopefully universal goal: avoiding falling for fake news.

WORKS CITED

Goldman, Adam. “The Comet Ping Pong Gunman Answers Our Reporter’s Questions.” The New York Times, 7 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/edgar-welch-comet-pizza-fake-news.html.

Samuelson, Kate. “What to Know about Pizzagate, the Fake News Story with Real Consequences.” Time, 5 Dec. 2016, time.com/4590255/pizzagate-fake-news-what-to-know/.

Siddiqui, Sabrina. “Half of Americans See Fake News as Bigger Threat than Terrorism, Study Finds.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 7 June 2019, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/06/fake-news-how-misinformation-became-the-new-front-in-us-political-warfare.

Luebkert, Maddie. “Understanding the Impacts of Fake News on Political Polarization | Maddie Luebkert | TEDxDenisonU.” Www.youtube.com, TEDx Talks, 13 Feb. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7j9I6cr_G4.

“Trump Aide Michael Flynn Jnr out after “Pizzagate” Tweets.” BBC News, 7 Dec. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38231532.

Wendling, Mike. ““Pizzagate”: The Fake Story That Shows How Conspiracy Theories Spread.” BBC News, BBC News, 2 Dec. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 July 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory.